Here's a challenge for long-term couples who enjoy scary movies: Sit down with your significant other and view Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its launch on a streaming platform on the Hulu service. On the surface, it might appear like standard physical horror, but within Together lies a intense contemplation about how we choose to love each other.
A Debut Feature Exploring The Nuances of Love
Together marks the introductory feature for filmmaker Michael Shanks. It features Dave Franco and Alison Brie as Tim and Millie, a pair who are not married that have stayed together for over ten years. Married in reality in 2017, Franco and Brie bring a particular energy to their portrayals, expertly portraying both the good and bad of a enduring union.
The narrative commences when Tim and Millie move from the urban environment to the country for her career. A familiar narrative setup, of course, but that’s primarily where the tropes end. Together transforms into as much a examination of mental states of the couple's dynamic as it is a body horror flick.
A Supernatural Catalyst
While walking near their new home, a violent storm occurs, and Millie and Tim discover an hole in the earth. After spending the night there and managing to escape, a supernatural entity takes hold of the pair. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes far beyond typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying horror experience, blending moments of dreamlike terrors, disturbing (but not excessively graphic) physical transformations, and authentically humorous exchanges (sometimes during something disturbing). Michael Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and presents them in a gradually swelling atmosphere of fear.
Complex Characterizations
A significant portion of Together is exclusively Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render numerous complexities to the characters’ relationship. Her self-assurance and sense of connection is waning due to a distance. Her underlying frustration of Tim for his hesitance to chase only his floundering music career slowly bubbles to the surface.
Tim, on the other hand feels trapped and isolated by Millie, who’s the cause they’ve left the city and removed from his support system. He dreads the concept of completely losing his individual identity in another person. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he does not operate a vehicle and needs Millie for getting around.
Shanks’ smartest move in this movie refrains from painting either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie face the sort of issues that are inherent in long-term unions a decade in. At their core, they have affection for one another. They share moments of joy, provide solace, and are vulnerable at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their future together.
Thematic Depth
While the paranormal elements in Together represent these anxieties of excessive reliance and fully committing to another person, the symbolism never feels clumsy or self-important. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments present a ideal counterpart to the interpersonal storytelling. Both the horror and the drama serve the other in harmony.
A Divisive Ending
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has left audiences divided on the movie's final takeaway about unhealthy partnerships. Reports indicate that unattached audience members have understood the narrative as a powerful case for staying single. Meanwhile, some couples who were in conflict found that the film ended up guiding them to resolve their issues.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own interpretation could act as a telling indicator of how you think about commitment. Will the ending inspire feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you recognize your own traits in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply glance toward your partner and say, “I’d do that for you”?
Whatever the case may be, Together is an exploration you can undertake right now.
Together is available to watch on the streaming service Hulu now.
